There Is No Excuse - Why BCAAs Are A 'Must Have' Supplement

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One supplement which I always recommend all of my clients to
use is BCAAs, and I would recommend you to do the same. After getting your
protein supplements bought there is no question in my mind that BCAAs are the
most important supplement if protecting your muscle, building muscle and promoting
muscle recovery is of importance to you. In short, any athlete who exercises
regularly needs BCAAs in my mind!

What are BCAAs? BCAAs are simply essential amino acids which
account for about 35-40% of your overall amino acid count. The body is able to
produce the other 60-65% but without proper nutrition and supplementation it
will not be able to benefit from the essential amino acids. These are known as
leucine, isoleucine and valine. When you supplement with BCAAs your body is
able to metabolise them within the muscle. BCAA products which have a high concentration
in leucine are generally more beneficial due to the increase anti-catabolic
effects this amino acid can offer.

Why do I need BCAAs? Above we touched on some of the basic
benefits of using BCAAs, but now we need to understand them in a little more depth.
BCAAs are metabolised in the muscle and as a result the body is able to utilise
the essential amino acids to build new proteins within the muscle. As a direct result
the risk of catabolism is significantly reduced. More than this, your ability
to increase lean muscle tissue is drastically increased.

BCAAs are also known for their great ability to prolong the
onset of muscle fatigue whilst training which not only allows you to train with
more intensity; it also helps you to sustain good strength levels.

BCAAs have also been shown to help increase insulin and
growth hormone production which are two of the most anabolic hormones within
the human body. Taking BCAAs post-workout also has the potential to increase
testosterone levels.

You could say BCAAs are the most anti-catabolic and anabolic
supplement you could probably ever wish to take.

When do I take BCAAs? This boils down to the individual goal,
your body weight and how regularly you are training. As a rule of thumb for a 200lb
male I would recommend 6g before training, 6g during training and 6g
post-training. If you train twice a day, take your BCAAs with every workout. If
you are doing fasted cardio I would also recommend having BCAAs before and
after your cardio.

Who should be taking BCAAs? If I was your trainer you would be
taking BCAAs regardless of your sport, goals or gender. Having said that, BCAAs
are particularly beneficial to those of you who are power athletes, people who
are looking to add muscle to their frame relatively quickly and those who want
to accelerate their rate of recovery.